With the adoption of the residential exemption two years ago, determining which taxpayers call Barnstable home became an important consideration for the town's assessing division.

The residential exemption provides an assessment credit on the primary residence of residents, good for an assessment reduction of $105,000 this year.

But there have been some instances where the assessment has not been properly applied, with some residents not getting the credit and instances where ineligible taxpayers do receive it.

Assessor Jack Greene said that there have not been a large number of inquiries about the exemption. Those that do come in can be handled administratively , he said, and do not require action by the board of assessors.

Greene said that the assessing office has not tracked the number of requests or problems with appropriately applying the exemption.

In the cases brought to the attention of the assessing officer, the exemption has been missed because the tax billing address is out of town, typically for tax escrow purposes.

Taxpayers have 90 days from the date the tax bill is issued to prove they are qualified to receive the exemption, Greene said. After that point, the town cannot consider such requests until the next billing cycle, and there is no opportunity for an abatement or adjustment.

Those receiving the exemption will see it referenced on their tax bills.

Greene said that for the 2006 tax year, the first for which the exemption was authorized, the assessing division mailed 27,000 inquiry letters to confirm the residency of all residential taxpayers. He said some of those requests were not returned. He also acknowledged that they may have been sent to the same address used for tax bills, which means they may never have been seen by some residents.

This year, the division mailed out 7,200 inquiry letters to help determine residency.

Those who believe they are eligible but not receiving the residential exemption should contact the assessing division at 508-862-4022.